The List: 18 Apr 1997 (Issue 303)

Penniless Hearts (l5) (Guiseppc Piccioni. Italy. I996) Guilio Scarpati. Margherita Buy. Gene Gnocchi. |03 mins. Three depressed strangers meet up and bring sparkle into their lives in this witty romance. As they set out to solve each other's problems. director Piccioni fills his film with human warmth. Part of the Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

The Phantom (l2) (Simon Wincer. US. I996) Billy Zane. Kristy Swanson. Treat Williams. I00 mins. He may he the original comic book hero. btit after countless screen outings for his crime-battling colleagues. The Phantom is looking well past his sell by date. Here the purple-clad crusader (Zane) has to stop a power-crazed business magnate (Williams) from unleashing a deadly force. Designed in the best Art Deco style. but everything and everyone is remarkably plastic and soulless. Irvine: Magnum. Pianese Nuncio ( l 8) (Antonio Capuano. Italy. I996) Fabrizio Bentivoglio. Emanuele Gargiulo. Manuella Martinelli. ll5 mins. A gay Catholic priest tries to come to terms with his homosexuality against a backdrop of corruption in Naples. When he takes a stand against the local underworld. his private life is exposed. Capuano suggests the trials and indignities suffered by the priest are not dissimilar to events at Calvary — which sent the Italian Catholic media into a frenzy. Part of the Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: GFI‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. The Portrait Of A Lady (12) (Jane Campion. US. I996) NiColc Kidtnan. John Malkovich. Barbara Hershey. I44 mins. Campion's follow-up to The Piano is a dark and difficult adaptation of Henry James's novel which stays true to the original's subtle psychological observations. Kidman — at once proud. naive. sensitive and determined — is excellent as the young woman almost destroyed by a disastrous marriage. while (\Ialkovich is a little too cold and ambiguous. Beautiful. but emotionally remote. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. Stirling: MacRobert.

Il Postino (U) (Michael Radford. Italy. I995) Massimo Troisi. Philippe Noiret. Maria Grazia Cucinotta. l08 mins. When exiled Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (Noiret) arrives on a remote island off the Neapolitan coast. he aids local postman Mario (Troisi) to woo the village barmaid. Gently paced and full of Mediterranean sun. Radford's film is nicely unsentimental. Sadly. Troisi died the day after shooting was completed. but he couldn‘t have left a liner legacy. St Andrews: New Picture House.

Powder ( l 2) (Victor Salva. US. I995) Sean Patrick Flanery. Mary Steenburgen. Jeff Goldblum. I l 2 mins. Like Phenomenmt. Pom/er is intended to be a spiritually uplifting film with a super-achiever for a central character and a conviction that there is good in the hearts of the most unassuming humans. An albino boy (Flanery ) found in a cellar is discovered to have an IQ that goes right off the scale and electrically charged powers which he uses for the good of mankind. Uninspired and sentimental. Irvine: Magnum.

Quadrophenia (I8) (Frank Roddam. UK. I979) Phil Daniels. Leslie Ash. Philip Davis. Sting. I20 mins. Mods and rockers live it up on Brighton beach by swapping buckets and spades for chains and sticks. Lively first half has enough energy. music. violence and period flavour to carry II along. btit all too soon II degenerates into some sort of treatise on the morality of youth. set to tunes by The Who. Glasgow: Grosvcnor Edinburgh: Cameo.

Reservoir Dogs ( l8) (Quentin 'l‘arantino. US. I992) Harvey Keitel. Tim Roth. Michael Madsen. I00 mitts. A gang of hoods. known only to each other by colour- coded nicknames. meets at an abandoned warehouse to figure how out their rigorously

planned heist went so drastically wrong. The best debut in years from writer-director Tarantino. whose stylish violence seduces the audience into complicity. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Cameo.

Return Of The Jedi (PG) (Richard Marquand. US. I983) Mark Hammill. Harrison Ford. Carrie Fisher. I32 mins. Family relationships are neatly tied up in the final part of George Lucas's original Star Wars trilogy. while the matinee-style action quota is kept high as the forces of evil are vanquished at last. This is much more of a kids film than the others ~ as evinced in the cutesy Ewoks — but the final confrontation between Luke and Darth Vader has more emotional impact than anything else in the series. General release.

Ridicule (I8) (Patrice Ieconte. France. I996) Charles Berling. Jean Rochefort. Fanny Ardant. l02 mins. A young engineer travels to the court of Louis XVI to secure funding for a drainage project and discovers a cruel society where savage wit can open doors or slam them in your face. Verbal duels give the filtn a literate spark. and the portrait of a decadent world manages to achieve several contemporary parallels. A costume drama with depth beneath the costumes. Glasgow: GF'I‘.

Robinson In Space (PG) (Patrick Keiller. UK. I996) 8| mins. Anybody who saw Keiller‘s Iiterary-cum-political tour London will know exactly what to expect of his broadened-out follow-up. ()n a Daniel Defoe-style trip across the length and breadth of England. Keiller takes in factories. supermarkets and research plants. while literary favourite themes are explained iii Paul Scofield‘s immensely civilised tones. An accessible. informative and thoroughly entertaining example of the film essay in its most stripped-down form. See review. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (I8) (Jim Sharman. UK. I975) Tim Curry. Susan Sarandon. Barry Bostwick. Meat Loaf. I00 mins. The cult filtn to end all others. this rock spoof on old horror movies has created a breed of Rocky HotTor crazies. and packs them in at late shows everywhere. The film has its moments. and Curry is splendidly camp as the bisexual Frank N. Furter. Edinburgh: Cameo.

Romeo And Juliet (I2) (Bar. Luhrmann. Australia/US. I996) Leonardo DiCaprio. Claire Danes. Pete Postlethwaitc. l20 mins. The Strictly Ballroom director‘s treatment of the Shakespeare tragedy is a magnificent riot of colour. action and sexy teen romance. without any need to sacrifice the text. To call it 'M'I'V filmtiiaking misses the point that the camera tricks and iii-jokes don't in any way distract from the fact that Luhrmann has completely grasped the issues at the centre of the play. An intoxicating. breathtaking mix of Catholic iconography. high camp and street violence that's both deliciously feverish and studiedly cool. General release.

The Saint (l2) (Philip Noyce. US. I997) Val Kilmer. Elisabeth Shue. Rade Serbedzija. I 14 mins. Snapping at the highly successful heels of illiszvi'on: [Ill/)().\'.\‘f/)I(' comes another 90s cinema version of a 60s TV espionage series. Master tliief Simon Templar (Kilmer) is pitted against a nationalistic Russian megalomaniac in this surprisingly playful film which balances action with our hero's variety of silly disguises for most of the movie keep both him and us amused. See review. General release.

A Self-Made Hero I l 5) (Jacques Audiard. France. I996) Matthieu Kassovitz. Anouk Grinberg. Sandrine Kiberlain. l05 mins. A rare blend of frivoltty and seriousness, Audiard's second feature probes the legacy of France's Vichy period through the life of a perpetual daydrcamer who gets a taste for libbing and embarks on an unlikely odyssey from gormless nowhere man to fraudulent hero of the wartime resistance. Matthieu Kassovttz (who made the brilliant street- saga La Home) fills Albert with an engaging melange of titnidity. low cunning and underlying determination. lidinburgh: Filmhouse.

habitant dead with a stack of money under his bed. so after performing a little DIY on the corpse. they reckon all their worries are over. Filled with dark humour and cynical one-liners. this Scottish thriller is bloody and intelligent enough to please the cult audience while remaining accessible enough to be a mainstream hit. Glasgow: City Centre Odeon.

Shine (I2) (Scott Hicks. Australia. I996) Geoffrey Rush. Noah Taylor. Armin Mueller-Stahl. I05 mins. Winner of nine top awards at Australia's equivalent of the Oscars. Shine is a remarkable and devastating film about the life of child prodigy and pianist David Helfgott. who was forced to retire from the stage due to a mental breakdown. but returned later in life. The performances show real love. while the recital passages are presented with a conviction that underlines the quality of the film as a whole. Edinburgh: Dominion. Some Mother's Son ( IS) (Terry George. Ireland/US. I996) Helen Mirren. Fionnula Flanagan. Aidan Gillen. ll2 mins. 'IIiis gripping account of the IRA hunger strikes during the early 80s focuses on two fictional mothers. one a gentle pacifist. the other with a fierce hatred of soldiers. Terry George. writer of In The Name Of The Father makes his debut as director and. while his film is not overly objective. it does recognise humanity on all sides. Stirling: MacRobert. Somewhere In The City ( l 5) (Michele Sordillo. Italy. I996) Ivano Marescotti. Carlina Torta. Fatos Haxjiraj. 75 mins. The marriage between a business consultant and a piano teacher seems to be perfect; but in reality he's having an affair. An addition to the mix is their Albanian lodger. Part of the Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: GFI'. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

Space Jam (U) (Joe Pytka. US. I996) Michael Jordan. Bugs Bunny. Wayne Knight. 87 mins. Nasty alien cartoons have captured Bugs Bunny and are going to enslave the Looney Tunes in their amusement park on Moron Mountain. but Bugs has the brainwave of challenging them to a basketball game and enlisting the talents of Michael Jordan for his team. Lacking the class of Who I-‘ratnetl Roger RabbitI and the pace of a real basketball game. Space Jam should divert the kids on Saturday mornings. even thouin the jokes and effects are tired from over-use. General release. Star Wars: Special Edition (U) (George Lucas. US. l977/97) Mark Hamill. Harrison Ford. Carrie Fisher. I26 mins. A screen legend returns. slightly souped-up for the modern audience: sound is suitably thunderous. the minimal extra footage of largely anorak interest. and the additional digital effects rather obviously painted in. Set against today's blockbusters. it has become something of a period piece. However. for its conceptual imagination. its innocence of spirit and budget-stretching technical resource Lucas's movie milestone remains just that. General release.

Stealing Beauty ( I 5) (Bernardo Bertolucci. Italy/I-iance/UK. I996) Liv Tyler. Jeremy Irons. Donal McCann. IIS mins. A teenage American beauty (Tyler) visits her late mother's bohemian ex-pat friends in 'l‘uscany with a mind to lose her virginity to the young man for whom she has had a lasting infatuation. Rivals for her affections are many. and her arrival unsettles the balance of the house. The photography is chtuacteristically masterful. although the storyline may contain a little too much middle-aged male lechery. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

Stories Of Poor Lovers ( l5) ((‘arlo l.i/.zani. Italy. I953) Marcello Mastroianni. Anna Maria Ferrero. Cosetta Greco. l I l mins. An idealist moves to the back streets of Florence to be closer to his girlfriend and becomes involved in the neighbourhood

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fight against fascist blackshirts. An early ‘serious‘ role for Mastroianni that took him away from his romantic comedy persona. Part of the Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: GI’I‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

Sunset Boulevard (PG) (Billy Wilder. US. I950) Gloria Swanson. William Holden. Erich Von Stroheim. III mins. Broken dreams on Sunset. perfectly handled by Wilder. One of Hollywood's blackest and hence one of its best pieces of introspection. Watch out for the some old Tinseltown luminaries in a cameo card-game. Edinburgh: St Bride's.

Taxi Zum Klo (l8) (Frank Ripploh. Germany. I980) Frank Ripploh. Bernd Broaderup. ()rpha Termin. 94 mins. 'liie lifestyles of an ill-matched gay couple — one house-proud. the other happier otit on the scene — are shown as ‘differcnt' but in no way perverse. While it reveals its low- btidget and autobiographical roots. it still manages to dispel a few myths with its irony and wit. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

Three Lives And Only One Death ( l8) (Raoul Ruiz. France. I996) Marcello Mastroianni. Anna Galicna. Chiara Mastroianni. I23 mins. Mastroianni's last major work casts him in four roles: a long- lost travelling salesman. a down-and-out anthropology professor. a mysterious benefactor and a deceitful businessman. Chilean-born director Ruiz. links the tales with a thread of dark comedy. Part of the Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: GI-‘I‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

Total Eclipse 1 IS) (Agnieska Ilolland. US. I996) leonardo DiCaprio. David 'I'hewlis. Romaine Bohringcr. 105 mins. Unusual casting combination to say the least: Romeo And Juliet's DiCaprio and Naked's 'Iiiewlis are. respectively. French poets Rimbaud and Verlaine in this period piece that's more interested in private life scandals than literary merits. Adapted by Christopher Hampton frotn his own play. it's like a pretentious cousin to Ann/(lens. Glasgow: ()deon Quay.